Spindle Palm Problem
May 8th, 2008 | By: Jamie Jamison AdamsAsk the Expert: Why is my Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii dying? Spindle
I bought a beautiful indoor spindle palm tree. I transplanted into a larger planter, added soil, and watered it with miracle grow. Days later, I noticed that the leaves were drying out. I cut off all of the dry stems. I am now left with one stem that has not open yet. I am not sure if that stem is fresh or dry. What can I do to save this plant? Is it too late? Thank you, for your help. Rosa
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May 8th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Rosa,
Did you have a strong or weak solution of miracle grow? I usually wait a few days after transplanting before I fertilize. So a strong solution may have caused stress in a plant that was already in a stressful situation. Also, when you watered did you completely soak the soil in the pot or just the top couple of inches. It is important to completely soak the soil when transplanting and to make sure that your pot is draining properly. One more thing to check — is the plant close to an air vent where the cold air of the air conditioning hits it? If so, this is a problem for the spindle palm. They do not like to be cold.
All is not lost. Make sure the root ball is moist and draining well. Make sure it can get a fair amount of light — it is a full sun plant and will need a very sunny exposure inside the house. Move it out of the air paths in the house. If it had to much fertilizer, it will take time for it to recover. The new stem should feel supple and not dried out. It may take a while for this stem to open so be patient.